WTF Bach

“While the c# minor fugue awakens the conception of a mighty cathedral, the two numbers in b-flat minor may be likened to artistically wrought side-chapel’s vaults, in which things most precious are kept.” —Busoni’s remarks on BWV 867.Things most precious, indeed. We might well wrap up this dark pearl of b-flat minor and guard it in the ‘side-chapel vaults’ of our hearts. What noble suffering, what secret anguish, what quiet pain is here! To know this music is to be changed, to expand one’s emotional capacity.Notice how, in Bach’s calligraphy, each note in this nine (!) note chord has its own stem:Such detail is sadly missing from any printed edition: It’s Free to B.W.V.!The fugue, in five voices, appears to be almost entirely in stretto, each voice interrupting the former. Notice the overlapping colors:This culminates in what I imagine to be a personal victory for Bach, ‘stretto-ing the stretto,’ making the entrances as close as possible, where the second note of one voice becomes the first note of the next, from top to bottom, all five voices in a masterful technical display:(Looks a bit crowded, yes, but that’s the idea!)We Rely Exclusively on Paid Subscriptions! Help WTF Bach endure:Join at wtfbach.substack.comThis is the only place Evan checks comments regularly.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachThank you for your help!Concepts Covered: We study the B-flat minor prelude, BWV 867, the Well-Tempered Clavier Book One, both five voice fugues in the second and penultimate minor positions, early manuscript and earliest version alongside P. 415, Bach’s revision of one extra measure. The fugue as a stretto fugue, possible connections between prelude and fugue, a complete stretto in five voices, a five-voice stretto, as well as the Busoni edition’s poetic description of this pair. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

César Vallejo (1892-1938) is one of my favorite poets. To define his style is difficult: one doesn’t understand his poems so much as one absorbs them. His words— seemingly impenetrable— have a sense to them which gnaws and tugs at dormant parts of the mind.Some 12 years ago I holed up in a little shack near the Canada/USA border with nothing but his poetry to keep me sane— but he began unraveling my mind in a beautiful way that left an indelible mark on me as a reader. Please enjoy my anecdote as well as the profound memoir by Clayton Eshleman, the acclaimed translator of Vallejo’s poetry. Book details below:Vallejo, César. The Complete Poetry: A Bilingual Edition. Edited and translated by Clayton Eshleman, foreword by Mario Vargas Llosa, introduction by Efrain Kristal, contributions by Stephen Hart, translated by José R. Barcia, University of California Press, 2009.ISBN: 9780520261730A link to the University of California Press where you can buy the book.W.T.F. Bach? is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.We Rely Exclusively on Paid Subscriptions! Help WTF Bach endure:Join at wtfbach.substack.comThis is the only place Evan checks comments regularly.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachThank you for your help! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

It’s thrilling to look at the music of Bach’s predecessors. We see the very shape of Bach to come (I say, referencing my own album…) In several of Buxtehude’s works, we find this texture:Bach tossed the trick into his bag for later deployment:Notice the ending: subtle, elegant, humble. Czerny didn’t think it was enough:Be on the lookout for the extra measure in your own edition! Tovey calls Czerny’s added bar, “perhaps the most Philistine single printed chord in the whole history of music.” Ouch!I Can Cantata!The fugue, one of my all-time favorites, makes strict use of two countersubjects. Together, they form a three-part wonder. I’ve tried to illustrate them:Bach, contrapuntist juggler, will juggle. Watch the orders switch:We Rely Exclusively on Paid Subscriptions! Help WTF Bach endure:Join at wtfbach.substack.comThis is the only place Evan checks comments regularly. You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachThank you for your help!Concepts Covered:The Prelude in B-flat Major BWV 866 from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book I in the North German toccata style, influenced by Buxtehude's toccatas and prelude. The fugue is a perfect example of Bach's mastery of triple counterpoint with two countersubjects. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Perhaps before composing the bulk of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach had been challenging himself to create a fugue with real technical daring. This fugue, in a minor BWV 865, represents some of the composer’s most ambitious fugal writing. Have a look at an outline of the subjects alone—you might even follow this image while listening to the episode— this might give you some idea of the task Bach undertook:From the beginning of the piece to the end, the combinations of themes become more complex, from entries one by one, to a three-voice stretto and finally all four voices simultaneously.Work! Those! Fingers!The prelude, meanwhile, is much simpler. Between the earliest version and the revisions found in P.415, we see Bach lacquering in his workshop. Notice the right hand:Bach finds more movement in revision:The detail I miss from the earliest version is the beautiful B-flat in the left hand:Although I do like Bach’s longer pedal point in the revision: Enjoying your contrapuntal journey? Here’s how you can help:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions (yes, you can subscribe for free!) are also beneficial for our numbers.You can make a one-time donation here. https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support!Concepts Covered:We study J.S. Bach Well Tempered Clavier, the history, lessons and analysis. Performance practice and contrapuntal structure, especially the complicated stretto fugue in a minor BWV 865 with its inverted stretti, its triple strettos and finally a four-voice stretto half inverted. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Remember this image from the E-flat Major Prelude and Fugue epsiode, where Bach puts a double fugue at the half within the half?Bach does it once more in today’s episode. We’ve arrived at the other double fugue in this collection, BWV 864 in A major. Bach begins the prelude by juggling three ideas:The ordering of these ideas will switch. A few bars later we see the same three ideas shifted around:Bach presents the same ideas a total of six times in the prelude. Whereas we logicians would love to see all six combinations (ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CBA, CAB,) Bach gives us four of the possible orderings. The final one with the syncopation on bottom is particularly nice:Feed the Contrapunctus: Now the fugue: This is the correction I got all excited about. This is from Anna Magdalena’s copy (called the Müller Manuscript) where we clearly see a revision that may improve on P 415. Look closely at the note which is whited out, this is the G-sharp that is found in Bach’s autograph, here, corrected to an E.After playing this measure as we know it, I can’t help but feel that this little gem hidden within Anna Magdalena’s copy reflects the latest thinking of the composer.You can view the Müller Manuscript here: https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00001076 Interesting how the shapes in the first of the subjects in the double fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier have similar rising perfect fourths:Similar shapes in the E-flat major pair:And finally, here is the charming work of the young WF, copying out one of his father’s cantatas at a young age. See the little attempt at making a mirror monogram, WFB? Wonderful! Schweitzer beautifully recounts this scene.We Rely Exclusively on Paid Substack Subscriptions! Help WTF Bach endure:We encourage our listeners to join at wtfbach.substack.comThis is the best place to leave comments.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachThank you for your help!Concepts Covered:J.S. Bach’s A major, book one, Well-Tempered Clavier, Anna Magdalena’s copy, also known as the Müller Manuscript (not to be confused with the Möller Manuscript,) Double fugue writing, juggling three contrapuntal ideas in the prelude. We also paint the scene for how Bach’s cantatas were assembled. A beautiful picture of WF Bach, CPE Bach and Bach’s nephew, JH Bach. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Back to Bach next week! In the meantime, I thought you’d appreciate a story I wrote after I ‘discarded’ the majority of my possessions— mostly books. Whereas I easily tossed things like clothes, artwork, komono, plates, pens, et cetera, getting rid of my massive library took months and was an emotional rollercoaster. I haven’t ever looked back! …mostly. Sans Eyes, Sans Books, Sans EverythingIf you go home with somebody and they don’t have any books, don’t f*** ‘em!-Not so old aphorismLast scene of all,That ends this strange eventful history,Is second childishness and mere oblivion;Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.-As You Like It, 2:7-for Marie Kondo (and Rachel)At eighteen years old, I moved to New York City with five books: a Mozart biography, a Bach biography, a Beethoven biography, a book about Beethoven’s piano sonatas, and a Bible. My sheet music library (which was already massive) and any other books (which were insubstantial) I left with my parents. All I valued at that time was playing the piano and any reading dealing with that. After a year, my personal Pentateuch had grown four times in size, but was humble still.Eleven years later I had one-thousand nine hundred and thirty two books.Books bought, books found, books stolen, books given, books I printed: any way one could get a book, I got books. I dreamed of creating a library that resembled my teacher Lowenthal’s: wall to wall books, books falling out of books, books used as bookshelves themselves, pages on the ground from who knows which books, books with missing covers, covers with missing books, books rapidly-read-horizontally-stacked-under-coffee-cups books, books under-the-piano-to-muffle-the sound books, books piled-on-top-of-the-piano-to-complete-a-cliche books, the divine image of the godhead seen in books spinning endlessly out from the library walls.“I always imagined heaven to be a kind of library.”That was the first sentence by Borges I ever read, and Lowenthal’s study was the closest to paradise I had been.—I lived in seven different apartments in New York, and with each move at least 75% of the boxes were books, and with books come their doomed counterparts: bookcases (so help us god.) Many a reader may commiserate. Once the first small white case was filled, (Ikea, 2007) there needed to be a match (Ikea, 2008.) By 2009, I had two crumbling, completely useless, bookcases.I called the poet Ron Price, who, though he owned less books than Lowenthal, seemed to have given more thought to their casing. I discussed a sleek white Ikea bookshelf I had seen online:“Oh! Don’t buy a f***ing BILLY!” he shouted.He knew the make. …Everybody knew the make. Little did I know, the crumbling pieces of piecemeal that already housed my books bore the same name.“Buy some nice wood. Make some sturdy shelves.”“Hmm… You’ve been down this road it seems.”He chuckled.“The… shelves are even more important than the books?” I went so far as suggesting“I don’t know about that.” he muttered.In a month, I had, at only a few times the cost of escaping Billy’s curse, three black bookcases, two inches thick per shelf. Unbendable.My East Harlem studio was immensely stylish: I dreamed I would see reconstructions of it in museums as I had seen reconstructions of Proust’s bedroom. Two tall cases stood side by side, and a third half-case, tastefully empty, was stacked horizontally on the other two. It created one giant fifteen foot wide wall, ten feet tall. It was like a tree for inanimate objects.And then, many a reader may commiserate, I tasted the rainbow: a design magazine with a bookshelf arranged by color. I didn’t do anything else for two weeks.I spent every day agonizing over the color of books and where on the new color coordinated shelves they would go. I grouped by color, but then realized my groupings were random. I needed the spectrum: a clean sweep from infrared to ultraviolet. I needed a circle? No, but, this was disastrous. Is color a circle? No, color is a triangle, right? The primary colors are only three… After two months of switching books around, I hit upon the solution: Primary colors would outline a triangle marking the top and the lowest corners. Then, the secondary colors would form the inverted triangle pointed at the bottom. It was so obvious. The only choice then was which of the primary colors to put at the top. In my collection, it made sense that blue should be the crown. Hence: orange went to the bottom, green and purple at the shoulders, therefore yellow and red at the... damn! That looks amazing!But what of all these books without color? Whereas I had previously banished them to the edges, now the black and white spines fit brilliantly into the middle. A zero in the middle of all the brilliance. Quickly, no matter how beloved the content, brown, tan, and off-white, gray books, these were imposters. I stuffed them here or there where they wouldn’t stick out. Eventually I put them with the dishes: behind the cabinets. The bookshelf, now made of only resplendent spines, became a centerpiece. It had eye gravity. It never escaped comments from guests.Any difficulties one might imagine, like two different colors on a spine, for example, were surprisingly rare. And when they did occur, each book somehow fit into only one section. There was one book though, (three novels by DH Lawrence) that had an obtuse, subtle, yet obvious, but odorous! an obnoxious color. It could not be placed: was it pinkish orange, bluish pink…? I know of nothing in the universe colored the same. I tried him in the reds, in the near pinks, in the center of the oranges, on the fringes of the oranges, with the near yellows, no luck. I banished him to the basement.“Look at all these orange books!” That’s what most people said after being sucked into the shelf for some time. (Penguin fiction, bottom center.) Schirmer sheet music publishes in bright yellow, which held down a sunny corner, whereas Henle publishes in matte blue. Dover —many a musician has cringed— seems to publish only in the most carefully selected distasteful colors, but when searching for the perfect transition from reddish-orange to orangish-red, Dover somehow prints an accurate Pantone 17-1464.Now, perhaps you reading will join in with the main criticism, which was, “how can you find anything now?!” But this was ridiculous, I knew all my books of course: the color of every spine, the height, width, the feel, the smell… besides, I had actually read most of these! (That oh-so-memorable moment my illiterate aunt visited and accused me of ‘collecting them,’ that there was no way a person could read so many books.)Rachel would quiz me:“Ancient China?”“In the off green.”“Nonsense of Edward Lear?”“Is dark red.”“Baghavad Gita?”“Purple!”Never could she stump me. She started switching books to see if I would notice. At first she tried the obvious: swapping a blue with a yellow, as if to test if I so much as glanced toward the shelf once a day. Then, sneakily, she tried switching a dark red with an off red. Finally she took to inverting certain books, but I noticed every time.—This was short-lived. Maybe only half a year before the shelf was condemned. It actually did get photographed in a (now defunct) design magazine. I felt like I had achieved something great when that happened— but it was April 2015, and we collectors know what happened then:Marie Kondo burst on the scene. God save our recycle bins. One excerpt from her book— a book about organizing, mind you, not a book about the human spirit, not a book of poems, not a book about love or anything of the sort: a book about organizing, left me in tears. What was wrong with me?And so began the days of getting rid of all my books. Poignant Pentateuch to boastful nineteen-hundred, however many it had been, it was all doomed to die now.Obviously enough, all of the books with the dishes were sold. If they were there, what was their use? Those that gave me a hard time in the color wheel were quickly off the wheel and onto the street. Reference books- gone, cookbooks- gone, any extremely common book- gone. I had, in the eleven years of reading, lost touch with my religion: goodbye St. Augustine, St. John of the Cross, GK Chesterton, (I’ll keep Thomas Merton, though.) I had also, in a sense, also outgrown the beats: goodbye Ginsberg, farewell Ferlinghetti. I sold six hundred books to one single shop in Brooklyn (and visited it a year later to the eeriest of feelings…) I made many a friend happy by giving away any book they asked for. I was actually able to pay my rent with book sales, and to show for it, I had an even brighter, ever slimmer color wheel.That April, I sold, gave away, or put on the street sixteen hundred books. I now had only three hundred odd books. That shelf gave me such immense joy to look at and be near, I stopped purging. I had arrived. Something, as Marie Kondo said it would, ‘clicked.’—But poor Rachel. We were through. I left for Europe to moan. Would I ever grow up? When I came back to my old life, and my new color wheel, the joy wasn’t in it. I had to clear out all the memories and rid myself of all attachments. The books she gave me had to go, even those quite dear to me: Steinbeck’s letters, R Kelly’s ‘Soulacoster: the diary of me’ (once full of laughter, now simply full of sadness… for godssake, the ‘of’ is in italics!) Frank Ohara’s poems, Thomas Lux poems, gone. She was a reader, all the books we read together had to go: Eugenides, Cheever, Dahl, Yeats.I was nearing 200 books. Some didn’t fit in with the colors so I taped their spines with brightly colored tape — then a few days later thought that seemed stupid and inauthentic. If a book had to be dressed to fit into the damn wheel, it didn’t deserve to be there in the first place! Curbside.I started getting rid of books I never thought I could live without. It made me feel like I was almost irreverent to let some go, as if I were quitting a religion I didn’t realize I was part of.I turned to Marie Kondo who mentioned it was important to thank the discarded objects, to let them go peacefully. Maybe that’s what I was doing wrong. I set condemned books in a pile near the front door for a few days before hauling them to the shop. Every time I walked in or out of the apartment, I thanked them, but mostly, I said goodbye.In Europe, I had spent a solitary month reading music electronically— I never thought I would be able to do that, but I quite enjoyed it. Returning then, I made an effort to stay modern: I got rid of every book of Dover sheet music I had (and I advise every musician to do the same: every single one is online, free, in the same edition.) I donated them to a music school. It seemed charitable, but only I knew I was just being selfish.I had an abusive high-school piano teacher who nearly ruined music for me (hell, she nearly ruined me!) so what were those same books doing in my house!? The Well-Tempered Clavier, Schubert impromptus, sure, these are not permissible to live without, but what were these specific objects, filled with her hateful scribbles, doing in my house?A friend of mine, Tepfer, took those six volumes.“But… why are you getting rid of these?” He asked.I warned him of the horrid teacher, that even though I had erased all her markings, she was still in there, somehow, messing with my head. He chuckled a bit and left. He didn’t believe in such black magic.A half hour later he texted:“man you werent kidding about the bad juju in those books halfway home the bag dropped from my bike slid under front wheel locked it flipped landed on my wrist waiting 4 xrays”He fractured his wrist. This is a true story.—I was down to a hundred and sixty books, though fifty of those were a first edition of the Harvard Classics. Published in 1909-1910, these represented the fifty volumes of what every educated gentleman in 1910 should know (the first volume is Ben Franklin’s autobiography and other Americana, to give you a sense.) Ten more of those hundred and sixty books were my grandmother’s books from the 19th century, the earliest was Goethe’s ‘Elective Affinities’, printed in 1871.They were so old I never opened them. These will fetch a pretty penny. I thought.So I took the more than century-old paper snake, eighth feet in length, to the famous Strand bookstore, where a famous (and I now know, retired) man appraised them. Entering the store, I saw a face which could have been so easily caricatured, I wasn’t sure it had a third dimension. His face had grown into the repetition of fingering books and staring into a computer screen. His nose held up his glasses, angled severely on his pointy face, pointed sharply at his task. Everything was pointed in lines. In fact, a whole row of people at the same long desk were appraising books in a line. His line of apprentices and all the energy in the room pointed toward him. Each person working behind the desk looked more and more like him as the line approached him. The appraiser at his left — clearly his successor and disciple— almost, almost! had his head, nose glasses, almost at the same angle. I waited with the others trying to strike it rich with whatever printed treasure chest a dead relative had forgotten about.Luck saw that he, the master appraiser, handled my books. Without using the muscles in his neck to look, as if an odor had offended him, he took all but two seconds to consider the books from the 19th century. He didn’t touch them. The Harvard Classics— all fifty at once— received maybe five seconds of his glance, but still, he didn’t touch them. My beautifully illustrated edition of Shakespeare, nearly two feet tall, met his fingertips, and even met his caress. It went to one side of the counter.“Mary,” speaking to an assistant, “would you please pass these books back to the gentleman.” She handed me back my eight-foot snake.“We would buy this book from you at the value of 18 dollars.” He told me, speaking about the Shakespeare. We would. Not, we would like. He didn’t wait for my reply or reaction and was about to call the next customer when I interrupted.“W… Wh… What about the other books?” I asked, “Are they too old?”Without missing a beat, and yet without condescension, he replied, “It isn’t a matter of old: you could have an old book that’s worth a small fortune. It’s a matter of condition.”His eyes traveled, as if it were the first time that day his glance left his hands, and he looked at me with an expression explaining that such eye contact was carefully rationed out. This was the glance of a master. There was no possibility of a counteroffer. I accepted his mastery and took the 18 dollars. I bought wine. Drinking from the bottle in the same neighborhood, I left the books, one at a time, on stoops of various apartments until the whole of the Harvard Classics had been strewn about on 4th avenue.—One hundred books. Count ‘em. I owned as many books as I did when I was a teenager! No longer was this large library weighing me down, hell, I might even be able to move now! Home would always be where the books were, and if I could fit my library into a suitcase, why then, I’d be like a bird!“The only good reader is a re-reader.”Nabokov said that. I pondered this. Was it true that I was less likely to read my hundred books, once, before I read my favorite ten, ten times? I calculated how much ten readings of ten books would influence me more than one reading through one hundred books. And so began my ultimate task of trying to divide one-hundred by ten.I hadn’t read maybe five of the 100, but now, with so few books, those which went unread for years were finally readable! Three of the five were interesting, but the other two made me wonder why I had kept them for so many years. In any case I tossed all five, and then another five, and soon five more. I was coming close to the number of books Kondo recommended: 20, or if you can, 10 books.—I called the poet Ron Price because I felt like I was dying.“You’re doing what?”“I got rid of almost all my books.”“Why?”“…I… I’m not sure.”He laughed. Then in his signature Memphis-snake-bit-grit voice, “Sometimes you have to give away what you love before you can keep it.”Ah… Yes, so true. I was giving away my love of literature to keep it, to acquire it again. I was going to become a re-reader and my band of ten books would allow me to…Price interrupted my stream of positive thoughts and added, “but not always.”Ah s***! I’m confused again. What was I doing!? Had I committed an egregious sin? Kondo’s book! Was this the most evil book of all? A book encouraging you to throw away books? She warned that the sentiment found in objects could die when you ‘purge,’ and therefore you start examining exactly where your real sentiment lies, but my god, I was pretty sure my real sentiment was lying in the garbage.I opened one of the last Thomas Merton book I owned and read, “you cannot be a holy man if you value possessions.”“Ach!” I shouted. I threw down the book.I went walking with one of my favorite books to walk with: the heart and diamond sutras in beautiful translations. I must have read this book at least twelve times on walks. I tried to memorize it at one point. But there, on a bench, this one time, one word: attachment. As if rehearsed, I draped the book over a parking meter and walked on.Finally, pretty close to only twenty books, I actually read Borges for the first time. Funny how that works. Until then, the only words of his I knew were about heaven being a library. And I’m pretty sure I had just spent months disassembling heaven. His words were,“…reading (which is to say the rereading)…”Again, here was another immortal talking about rereading!And in an obsessive text to a friend about this whole process, I misspelled ‘bookshelf’ into ‘bookself.’ Oh happy mistake! Oh revealing accident! Your bookshelf is your book-self! Choose wisely:Complete ShakespeareComplete poetry of Cesar VallejoThe Book of Tea- Kakuzo OkakuraTeh Tao Ching- Lao TzuChuang Tzu- (ed. Thomas Merton)Clavichord Tuning and Maintenance- Peter BavingtonA clavichord builders manual (1973)- David WayJ.S. Bach- Albert Schweitzer (2 Vol.)Bach, Essays on his Life and Music- C. WolffThe Well-Tempered Clavier (2 Vol.) (Newly purchased editions)This is twelve books. Compared to the five books that arrived with me to this city, there is little change: the Messiah of the West has become the Messiah of the East, the piano has become the clavichord, but there is little change.There are plans however: Two of my most read books (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and its sequel, Lila) I discarded due to their thick size and now crumbling covers, but not before finding the text of each, rearranging both into a single slim volume, and ordering it custom printed. Thirteen. Then the Bhagavad Gita: it’s always been one of the most beautiful things I have ever known, but the editions never have, so I wrote the entirety of the scripture into a beautiful yellow notebook: Fourteen.In the process, I should mention, I cut down my clothes to six pairs of trousers, six shirts and a couple jackets, I gave away many sentimental objects, I sold half the artwork in my apartment and I deleted permanently twelve thousand photographs and sixteen thousand emails. Hitting the delete button quite literally made me feel lighter.—“So what if I gave you a book?” someone asks. I respond saying I will now have the space to read it and the freedom to get rid of it! “You would get rid of my gift?”I turn to Kondo again: people who give gifts with the expectation that the receiver keeps them, are giving for the wrong reasons.Others ask, “how could you do that? I just, I just love books so much!” But who else then, if not I, has ever known the love of books? “But the feel, the smell, the…” yes, and I too have known and loved every aspect of a book. “…but what will you read now?” Well, I’ll read everything. “…on one of those e-reader things?” Yes, on one of those.Will I ever own more books in the future? Why not ask me if I’ll own less? My friend Jesse challenged me to scan all fourteen books into my computer and simply have no books. I’m up for the challenge, but for now enjoy looking at the narrow stripe (still organized by color) of fourteen. If there comes a book which I feel desperate to keep, it must be one that shakes me deeply, I would welcome that.But for now, fourteen was Bach’s number and the number of lines in a Shakespeare sonnet.-Brooklyn, 2015.—Postscript, 2017:That book did arrive, number fifteen: Fernando Pessoa’s ‘Book of Disquiet.’Post-postscript, 2021:Pessoa’s writing has shaken me deeply enough that I have moved to Portugal. I now, very slowly, read him in the original. I notice even my local bike mechanic knows the names of at least four of Pessoa’s heteronyms. I have, in this frenzy, bought a dozen volumes of his writings, and a few things I decided I couldn’t live without, such as Whitman, Milton, William James, and R.H. Blythe’s four-volume haiku work. Still, I’m under 50 books, my entire library sits on a single shelf.Post-post-postscript, 2026:I currently own 286 books. Turns out I did grow up— 286 books and one child— but I’m getting ready for another purge— of books I mean. I’d like to get back around 200. I have a rule about a new book, which is that it must be hardcover and colorful on the spine. (Yes, my shelf is still ruled by the rainbow.) I can’t imagine owning nearly 2000 books ever again, but who knows: when writing this piece, I could not have imagined 286.We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Resource:The best way to support us, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

I don’t blame us for preferring our rather clean, modern Bach editions to this:But are we so confident in our own interpretations that we can throw out the likes of Hans Bischoff, Carl Czerny, Ferruccio Busoni (pictured) and Donald Francis Tovey? These heavily annotated performance editions, while, yes, they should be read alongside a ‘cleaner’ modern edition, can certainly still teach us some beautiful musicianship. In this episode, I let Sir Donald Francis Tovey’s remarks on the g-sharp minor prelude and fugue, BWV 863, lead us through an analysis of the work.Some more from Busoni (the previous prelude and fugue,) his footnotes and ossias are exciting:Most of these editions are in the public domain on IMSLP. Have a look: https://imslp.org/wiki/Das_wohltemperierte_Klavier_I,_BWV_846-869_(Bach,_Johann_Sebastian)Finally, here is the source of confusion about the Picardy third at the end of the g-sharp minor fugue. At first glance, it certainly looks like B natural in the alto voice. (Soprano clef) But look closer. (Sorry for the resolution.) This is not Bach’s normal natural sign. It has a slash (maybe two slashes?) through it:Here are few of Bach’s natural signs. Upon comparison, the above sign certainly is modified with extra strokes to form a sharp:We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid Substack subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support.Concepts Covered:An analysis of BWV 863 exploring the four-voice fugue, the two counter-subjects, the invention of the prelude with its inversions — guided by Sir Donald Francis Tovey's annotated Well-Tempered Clavier edition. We mention Busoni, Czerny, and Bartok’s edition as well. What do these historic performance editions still have to teach us? Why a modern urtext editions won’t tell the whole story, and finally the confusion at the end of the prelude and fugue: the Picardy third in the alto voice at the finale. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Birthday Johann. Today, March 21st, not March 31st.Let me repeat that for those of you feeling clever or citing google without thinking:Happy Birthday Johann. Today, March 21st, not March 31st.Why are people confused about this? How did this become a thing? And what extremely boring person got so frustrated with a toccata they started tampering with Bach’s wikipedia page?There were two main calendars in Europe at the time: the Julian and the Gregorian. We are currently on the Gregorian, but it took a while to get everyone on board. Greece held out until 1923 even, and Protestant Germany was holding back in 1685, when Bach was born.But you know, you gotta get with the times, man! Gotta catch up to the modern world! It’s gonna be 1700 pretty soon! We’re gonna have mercury thermometers and calculus… You’re living in the past! …ten days in the past!So in 1700, Germany did indeed make the jump from Julian to Gregorian. In the year 1700, they jumped from February 18, to March 1. No one died, no one was born between Feb 18th and March 1st, 1700 in protestant Germany. (No one even used the toilet.)Germany joined the Gregorian calendar when Bach was 15 years old, with the legal stipulation that all prior dates would remain valid. A legal stipulation, in fact, protecting the old dates from being overridden, and converted to the new calendar.So, come on people, let’s not try to override this actual legal stipulation. (Here’s my gentle reminder that saying Bach was born on March 31st is illegal.) We can’t go about dismissing ecclesiastical records in favor of our modern abstractions just because we’re feeling smug about hybrid cars and vegan smoothies. It’s not like the Gregorian calendar represents some objective truth that the Julian calendar was failing to capture.Bach was Born on March 21st. The next person I hear whispering in the bar, “well, technically he was born on March 31st…” is getting a mordent —to the face.Are you that person who’s trying to switch Bach’s birthday to the 31st? Wow. Can’t wait to hang out with you on Christmas: “Actually, statistically speaking, the odds that Jesus was born on the 25th of December are practically zero! Did you know that in Judea, shepherds typically watched their flocks by night from Spring to early Autumn?” Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get a life.Maybe you know about Shakespeare and Cervantes? That they died on the same day? Or rather, the same date. It’s the same thing: Protestant England, on the Julian calendar, and Catholic Spain, on the Gregorian. It created this beautifully poetic coincidence. The greatest writers of their generations both died on April 23, 1616— 10 days apart.Now, we’re not going to switch the date on which Shakespeare died, are we?! No. That’d be asinine. Which is exactly what shifting Bach’s birthday to March 31st is, asinine. March 21st is also Early Music Day in Europe— for this very reason, and we’re not going to move early music day are we? No, that’d be asinine.March 21st is also, nicely, International Poetry Day, …and World Puppetry Day, …and World Day for Glaciers— if you ask me we have too many days, but sure, why not. In fact, why not make a puppet of Bach reading a poem and dance him around on some ice cubes today.Today is also Harmony Day in Australia, beautiful! The immortal god of harmony, that he should share Harmony Day in Australia. I pictured everyone leaning into triads and flat-nines down unda’ but this day happens to be about racial harmony, but still! Still. Let’s sing four-part chorales with everyone we know.Bach’s birthday is March 21st. It always was March 21st. You know who was born on March 31st? Haydn. Who? Exactly. Never heard of him. If anyone wishes me a happy birthday Bach in 10 days, I’m blocking you.Dig Out Your Inner Ear:Enjoying your contrapuntal journey? Here’s how you can help:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also beneficial for our numbers.You can make a one-time donation here. We run a 501(c)3, so let us know if you want a tax deduction:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

I was always jealous of jazz musicians, simply learning music off recordings— no sheet music necessary. Why couldn’t I do that? Why don’t classical musicians have this skill? It seems like all musical cultures in the world learn this way, so what was I missing?About 12 years ago I decided I wanted to be part of this tradition. After some trial and error, I hit upon a method that allowed me to learn Bach (or any other composer) by ear. And more than just being glad for having developed the skill of transcribing, the method is extremely efficient: I find that pieces are usually memorized faster than when using sheet music.Here is the method as explained in the episode:-Record, slowly with the score, up to 60 seconds of music (or even 10 seconds if you like.)-Put away the score and play ‘call and response’ with the recording, relying on your ears.-Once learned, re-record the music as you've heard it, now learned aurally.-Re-open the music, play the new recording, checking for inaccuracies, missing details, &c.-Repeat…Stretch the Octave:Now, once something is memorized, you may want to keep it memorized. So you’re up against the ol’ Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve: the speed at which your mind forgets without conscious review. We all have our own curves, but my rule has been roughly:Play the newly memorized music twice on the first day,Review the music on the second day,… three days after learning,… one week after learning,… two weeks after learning,… one month after learning,… three months after learning,… six months after learning,… one year after learning,…two years after learning.You can even put dates in your calendar saying, “You learned fugue X three months ago: Review it today.” With this practice, you’re sure to have some counterpoint written into your DNA.W.T.F. Bach wants YOU to learn a fugue by ear:The Pakistani musician I mentioned is the immortal, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Listen to his extraordinary live concerts where he and his band achieve the heights (while sitting on the floor.) In my next life I’d like to be one of the guys in back clapping only quarter notes.Want to help this resource? Here’s how:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also beneficial for our stats. You can make a one-time donation:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Analysis starts at 17 minutes. Sorry, I got carried away talking about the possible peculiar paradox of being a pianist. Just before making this episode, my harpsichord forced upon me a change of interpretation, so I started thinking about how and why this happens. I spoke about the way classical musicians are ‘bred,’ asking the following questions: How can we spend our lives playing music from the 18th century without any contact with the instruments used then? Can we know objective aspects of older music while playing on a single model of an instrument developed toward the end of the 19th century? Do pianists exist in a vacuum, where a musical interpretation is guided by a sort of subjective vision— is it even vanity or self-flattery? Certainly there are pianists who know the Steinway’s predecessors, but on the whole, I feel there is a real ignorance of the instruments on which our repertoire is founded. Perhaps, though, we are in the midst of a revolution of touch and interpretation: I’ve recently seen more pianists playing fortepianos, owning clavichords, et al. This can only lead to a more text-based reading of the music.But— mind you!— is that a good thing? Do we want to push the art of keyboard playing in a direction away from self expression and toward people claiming the ‘truth’ is on their side? That sounds awful! Even if pianism indeed exists a vacuum, it certainly produces rare visions of the music only accessible through such an art.Enough musing. While playing the A-flat major Prelude BWV 862 on my double manual harpsichord, the instrument, in a word, told me about the music. There was something about the limited palette of the instrument that forced upon me a new approach. This sort of radical adjustment to one’s playing is typical of playing on historic instruments. On the modern grand piano, possibilities are endless, but on older instruments, the sound tends to constrain the range of possible interpretations.Spread the Fugue.The prelude BWV 862 saw some lovely revisions between the earliest conception of the piece and the version we know. For starters, take the lovely line of the concertino solo in BWV 862a:How different is the revision!Now bars 22-27 in the earliest version:Revised to the more evenly shaped:Want to support W.T.F Bach? Here’s how:The best way is to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support!Concepts Covered:J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Das Wohltemperierte Clavier, As Dur, BWV 862, The concerto style of the prelude, between two manuals in the prelude, Fugal analysis, early versions of WTK 1, BWV 862a, and the possible ‘vacuum of pianism’ creating subjective art vs. seeking objective facts about the music. Historic instruments leading to a text-based interpretation, using knowledge of older instruments to inform modern piano playing et cetera. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

“The discontent of being between two notes; the urge to break free of a single note.”-Lionel Party (Paraphrased ca. 2005)What an opening:In this episode we listen to at least 14 different interpreters play this expressive trill. Such a simple idea, but how many different ways this idea can be realized! At an even speed or speeding up? With a turn at the end or a turn at the beginning or no turn at all? Crescendo all the way through or perhaps even diminuendo?Between earliest version and the fair copy, Bach seems to smooth out the rhythm in the solo voices. This is a rare case where the earliest version is rhythmically more nuanced than the revision.Bar 6. The last beat is more varied in the early version:It is smoothed out in revision:Bar 9. The top two voices sing in different rhythms in the early version:In revision, Bach makes them consistent:Penultimate bar. Note the 64th notes in the early version:Everything is more uniform in revision:WTF Bach survives exclusively on listener support! Thanks for your help.As we progress through Book One of The Well-Tempered Clavier, our fugal themes become increasingly complex and chromatic. Here, the fugue’s subject is angular, modern even:The subjects come in an memorable stretto toward the end:Want to help this resource stick around? Here’s how:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also beneficial for our numbers.You can make a one-time donation:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support!Topics Covered in this episode:J.S. Bach Well-Tempered Clavier Book One, BWV 861 prelude and fugue analysis, also Baroque ornamentation and how to play a trill, performance practice. We examine Bach’s manuscript sources in the early vs late versions of this pair. A general discussion of Baroque keyboard music, harpsichord vs piano performance, fugue structure and form, and Bach’s counterpoint. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”-Politics and the English LanguageThanks for reading W.T.F. Bach?! This post is public so feel free to share it.Enjoying your contrapuntal journey? Here’s how you can help:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also beneficial for our numbers.You can make a one-time donation here. We run a 501(c)3, so let us know if you want a tax deduction:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

G Major: Bach’s key of virtuosity, celebration, exuberance (with his occasional contented reflections on mortality.) The passion music and death in the previous prelude and fugue is conquered by this G Major set, BWV 860 from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book One. The fugue is a brilliant model of contrapuntal technique. The three-voice fugue begins:But after only a few bars, Bach is ready to bring in all the voices again— this time with the melodies upside down. (Inverted exposition.) N.B. The middle voice’s theme began on the previous page:And there are stretti in this fugue, one melody interrupting another. Here’s one where the themes are rhythmically shifted to the second half of the bar:The prelude is equally joyous. The earliest version of this prelude is a mere 15 bars long, compared to the 19 bars of the latest version. Notice, too, how Bach changed the key signature of only one (!) staff. The earliest version reads:But later, on the top staff, Bach changes it to 24/16 (!) in the fair copy, P. 415: Want to help this resource? Here’s how:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also beneficial for our stats. You can make a one-time donation:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

A new type of episode, Quodlibets! Quod (what) + libet (it pleases) or, ‘whatever you like,’ ‘anything at all.’ This episode centers on a beautiful chorale prelude, but first, my, Ode to the Negroni: The Meeting of Etymology and Entomology at the top, then some Bach, and finally, how Paradise Lost was written, as explained by the English scholar, John Carey. Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott, BWV 721, in f-sharp minor (note the Phrygian key signature!) is an extraordinary little piece. Written around 1709, it is a profound and most elusive chord progression. Here is the first page:The text from 1524, based on Psalm 51, was translated by the English ecclesiastical reformer Myles Coverdale. I know nothing about him but his Wiki page is fascinating!Finally, John Milton. If, one day, you sit down to read Paradise Lost you may feel… well, lost. It was the writing of the late John Carey that led me through this beautiful poem. Spoiler alert: Milton wrote the poem between sleeping and waking, totally blind, by dictating what he was receiving from a ‘Heavenly Muse’ he thought was the same muse responsible for inspiring the Mosaic books of the bible— Wow. Reading the poem with this in mind is a completely different experience. For Milton, the poem was a purely audible experience, hence reading it aloud brings it to life. He, after all, never saw it on a page.Got Bach?Want to help this resource stick around? Here’s how:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also beneficial for our numbers.You can make a one-time donation:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support!Concepts Covered: Bach in the Phrygian Mode, Tone III, Missing flats, missing sharps, Bach’s Key signatures, John Milton, how did Milton write Paradise Lost, Etymology and Entomology, The Origins of the Negroni CocktailSource quoted:Leaver, Robin A. Luther's Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications. Eerdmans, 2007. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

“It’s not that Bach writes music and then sits in an armchair and thinks about God... Bach writing music is Bach thinking about God.”Individual keys are often loaded with personal significance to the composer. To what extent was Bach thinking of the double sense of Kreuze— both as ‘cross’ and the musical sign for a sharp?As discussed in the episode, f# minor wasn’t necessarily the key signature with three ‘crosses,’ as Bach’s f# minor looks like this on the page:Is it more likely that Bach saw b minor as the image of Golgotha on the page? Dare we speculate further and claim that the symmetry of the C# between the two F’s is Christus between the two thieves? Speculation adds nothing of substance… but it’s fun! Bach’s b minor on the page:In any case, Kreuze was probably never far from Bach’s mind, and f# minor was usually a key for expressing pain and suffering in the cantatas. The fugue from Book One of The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 859 is full of blatant passion language, seen in the weeping of the countersubject: Does The World Need More Bach?One question I have concerning modern editions is the tenor voice in bar 36. In the earliest version, Bach has given— as a cautionary accidental— D natural:But in the revision, he forgets the cautionary accidental (or deems it unnecessary.) Does this omission justify D#?! I don’t think so. Both Henle and Bärenreiter suggest D#: At the end of the episode, we explore the canon from the sonata in A Major for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1015. The third movement (in f# minor) is a strict canon from beginning to end. Check this out:Want to support W.T.F Bach? Here’s how:The best way is to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support!Concepts Covered: Bach and religion, composition as theological thought, the symbolic meaning of musical keys in Bach’s works, f♯ minor & b minor, Calvary or Golgotha. Kreuze in Bach studies: the double meaning of “cross” and the sharp (♯) sign in German language. f♯ minor as a key of suffering and affliction in Bach’s cantatas and keyboard works. Passion rhetoric in BWV 859 (WTC I)Canon analysis of BWV 1015, the Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in A major. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

The Well-Tempered Clavier …what does it actually imply?In this episode I seek (in 18 minutes) to demonstrate mathematically pure intervals, alongside ‘tempered’ intervals. The circle of fifths is in fact a spiral of fifths— it is infinite. We seek to make it a circle for convenience, but this means that the distance between what would be mathematically pure intervals must be altered (!) in order to force the spiral into a circle. The question remains: how do we do that? Music today is heard in equal temperament, where all keys, all tonalities sound the same. Pure intervals have been forced into identical ‘impure’ ones— convenient, but this deprives us not only of a beautiful natural simplicity, but also the individual character of each key found in unequal temperaments. From the earliest European music, numerous solutions to this immortal problem have been offered. By the time Bach arrives, his solution, laid out for us in The Well-Tempered Clavier, is certainly an elegant one…but we don’t quite know exactly what it is. The remainder of the episode analyzes the prelude and fugue, no. 13, in F-sharp major, BWV 858. A look at the opening of the prelude in earliest version offers lovely insights into Bach’s working mind:In revision Bach changes the repeated note — a recognizable motif of the early version— into a trill, now acting as its own motif:Particularly fascinating is the way Bach changes the harmonic rhythm from the early version here, bar 17:Now again from measure 17 in the revision. Bach inserts two full bars, extending the harmonic length of g# minor and C# Major: “Thank Bach for God.”A huge thanks to Bradly Lehman for helping preparing this episode. I haven’t even scratched the surface of what his work covers, but hopefully you’ve got some idea how deep the topic of tuning can go. Lehman has some great online resources illuminating the fascinating world of temperament. For starters, try:www.larips.com (Spiral spelled backward)Dig deeper with this essay here, published by the Reimenschneider Bach Institute:And finally, more Articles and Essays by Bradley Lehman Want to help this resource? Here’s how:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also beneficial for our stats. You can make a one-time donation:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support!Concepts Covered:Pure vs tempered intervals, ‘spiral of fifths,’ vs. the circle of fifths, equal temperament, loss of key character, Bradly Lehman temperament, historical tuning systems, Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, temperament and tuning, F-sharp major Prelude and Fugue No. 13, Bach’s compositional revisions, and BWV 858 Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

A double canon from Bach’s Orgelbüchlein! A bit late, but Bach’s take on this Christmas tune is really wonderful. See how both melodies combine to make a double canon:German mystic, Heinrcih Seuse, author of ‘In Dulci Jubilo’English composer R. J. Pearsell’s setting of the melody.Spread the Love, Doubly Canonic:N.B. I’ve been wanting to make this rebrand for a while: The title of this podcast is no longer “The WTF Bach Podcast” but simply, “WTF Bach” — I hope this doesn’t cause any problems, if you run in to any issues as all, please alert us! Thanks!Want to help this resource? Here’s how:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also beneficial for our stats. You can make a one-time donation:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

I had the great pleasure of speaking with Mr. Paul Jacobs. On the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, July 28th, 2000, Jacobs played Bach’s complete organ works in one giant 18 hour concert— he was 23. Our conversation spans how to memorize, scholars vs. performers, pianists playing the organ, pop music, music for consumption, ‘social media musicians,’ music as a substitute for God, The Art of Fugue (harpsichord or organ?) and more…Become Your Best Buxtehude:Some links mentioned in the chat:Organmaster ShoesThe Robertsbridge CodexSchumann’s advice for young musiciansand of course, Paul’s website.Want to help this resource stick around? Here’s how:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also beneficial for our numbers.You can make a one-time donation:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Update: Just got five promo codes to download Time Guru (the cool metronome app mentioned in the episode.) Send me a message or let me know down below you’re interested and I’ll share the codes! Happy PracticingLet’s get our good new habits in early in the year! In this episode, I read practical advice from three organists/organ method books. The organ method books are in a class of their own— highly entertaining reading.We begin with Francis Routh’s Teach Yourself The Organ (1958.) His asterisk marking the complete works of Buxtehude as ‘fairly easy’ is representative of this amusing book:Harold Gleason’s method book of 1962 makes up the bulk of this episode, the complete advice is pasted below.We feature some of Fayth Freese’s excellent article from The Diapason. I recommend the full read. And here is the advice to teens I made for the Harrison School for the Arts in Lakeland Florida. I cannot emphasize enough how music should be a joyous process at this age, never an abusive one.From Gleason (bold type is my emphasis)HOW TO PRACTICE:* Make a schedule for daily practice. Devote a definite amount of time to technique, to new music, to perfecting music already studied, and to memorizing. Devote at least one hour a day to piano practice. Later the student will need to reserve time for perfecting the many skills required for playing the church service.* Practice as if the piece were being memorized (see the section on Memorizing).* Study the music before beginning to practice. Note the key signature, time signature, note values, fingering, pedaling, structure, special problems, and general style. If the fingering and pedaling is not given or is inadequate, it should be carefully worked out according to the principles given in the sections on Fingering and Pedaling.* Memorize and always use the same fingering and pedaling. Incorporate the articulation, phrasing and interpretation into the practice.* Try to avoid playing wrong notes or incorrect time values from the first time an exercise or piece is practiced. If a wrong note or rhythm is played, do not immediately correct it. Go back to the beginning of the phrase and repeat the passage correctly a number of times.* Concentrate on the work at hand and avoid mechanical, unthinking practice and repetition. Always practice after a lesson.* Practice slowly in the following sequence: right hand; left hand; both hands; pedal; right hand and pedal; left hand and pedal; both hands and pedal. Begin the slow practice of short sections for both hands and pedal while working on separate parts.* When the phrases and sections of a composition have been mastered at a low tempo, play it all the way through. When this has been accomplished with complete muscular control and accuracy, the tempo may be gradually increased. Return to slow, detailed practice of sections which are not secure, and repeat this process at succeeding practice periods.* Always practice at a steady tempo. Do not play easy places fast and difficult places slowly.* Devote the most attention to difficult passages.* In contrapuntal music, play one or more parts and sing another part.* In passages of a technical nature, the practice of four-note groups in the various rhythmic patterns is helpful in developing speed and control.* Stop practicing and relax for a few minutes at the first sign of tension.* When practicing technical exercises for manuals and pedals, and when first learning a piece, use clear, quick-speaking stops of 8’ or 8’ and 4’ pitch (Gedackt 8’, Principal 4’).* As soon as the notes in a composition have been mastered, work out an appropriate registration.* The drawing of stops and the use of combination pistons and reversibles should be carefully practiced and synchronized, in order not to interfere with the performance of the music.* Above all, the student should learn to listen and hear that the parts are sounding together, are released together, and that the touch, rhythm, accents, and interpretation are actually being realized as intended.How’s Your Contrapuntal Journey Fugueing?HOW TO MEMORIZE:The principal reason for playing from memory lies in the fact that it will result in a better performance, both technically and musically. The perfectly memorized work becomes a part of the performer and gives him complete freedom of expression.When a piece of music is practiced correctly and efficiently, it is also being memorized, and good practice habits will lead to a continual improvement in the ability to memorize.After a composition has been thoroughly learned with the notes, the complete process of memory should be undertaken. Concentration and interest in learning are indispensable to the memory process.There are four types of memory which are used in music. Three of these types—aural, visual, and motor memory—depend on our senses or imagery. The fourth, and most important type, is known as cognitive memory. It is based on knowledge and is the memory we use in the analytical study of the music.The memorization of music requires the combination and collaboration of the four types of memory. We all vary in our natural gifts and capacities, but all types of memory should be cultivated and can be improved.Cognitive MemoryThis memory is the basis of all study, from the time the piece is first practiced until it is performed from memory. Every detail of the music should be analyzed technically and musically, and be consciously known. Organize notes into patterns, groups, and phrases. Note all sequences and variations from the sequential pattern. Analyze harmonic progressions and relate them to each other. Contrapuntal lines, rhythm, and interpretative factors are all a part of analytical study. Study the form and relate the details to the whole.Aural MemoryThis memory is useful in enabling us to hear mentally what the next note or chord is, and it strengthens the other types of memory. The ability to hear accurately and retain what we hear should be developed until individual lines of the music can be played and sung without errors. Eventually a whole composition can be “practiced” by going through it and hearing the sound mentally.Visual MemoryThis type of memory gives us a mental image of the way the notes look on the printed page, or the place of the notes and the shape of each passage on the keyboard. Visual memory may be developed by concentrating on a measure of music, consciously noting all its details, and then reproducing it from the mental image. Gradually more measures can be added, and a mental image of whole phrases and sections can be retained. Avoid using different editions of a composition during the learning process.Motor MemoryThis is one of the most useful and also the most dangerous types of musical memory. Motor memory involves the touch sensations and training of the muscles so that the movements in playing become automatic. They should, however, never be mechanical. In developing motor memory the same fingering and pedaling must always be used. Avoid repeating phrases endlessly without thought or purpose. Never depend on motor memory alone in memorizing a piece. The slightest interruption in the automatic process will inevitably lead to a breakdown.Summary* Begin to learn all the techniques of memorizing with the first lesson. The basic principles of position, manual technique, and practicing should be memorized. Analyze the exercises and studies and memorize the fingering. A few of the manual studies in which the student is particularly interested should be memorized after they have been learned perfectly with the music.* Memorizing should continue throughout the organist’s career and be made a part of every practice period.* Memorize when the mind is alert and the power of concentration is strongest. Do not attempt to memorize when fatigued.* Always begin with analysis and then introduce the other memory techniques. The more thoroughly the music is learned the longer it will be retained and the more positive will be its recall.* Memorize phrases or short sections at first and gradually develop the ability to learn longer sections. Always be sure the sections are connected in the mind and make a unified whole.* Work on at least one new section of music each day and then review the previous sections.* Memorize landmarks at cadential points and practice beginning at any one of these landmarks.* Memorize and be able to play the parts for each hand alone and the pedal part alone.* In reviewing a work previously memorized always consult the score and repeat the original memory process.* Do not think of difficulties ahead, or the association of chord to chord and phrase to phrase will be lost.* In performing from memory, the subconscious mind will function if it is not interfered with by fear.* The fear of forgetting can be eliminated by the knowledge that every detail of the music and its interpretation has been engraved in the mind and that the aural, visual, and motor senses have been well trained.Want to see this resource stick around? Here’s how you can help:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions (yes, you can subscribe for free!) are also beneficial for our numbers. You can make a one-time donation here. We run a 501(c)3, so let us know if you want a tax deduction:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

This famous piece:saw quite a few revisions between its conception and the version we know. For starters, note the earliest version’s key signature, and the E-flat in bar 2:The most striking feature of the early version is the abrupt end:No presto? No adagio? No allegro?The fugue (in 3 voices) is a fugue with two countersubjects. See them here, the first on top, the second below. Both countermelodies occur with every entrance of the main theme:Become your best Buxtehude.We also have a brief look at the c minor invention, BWV 773. The piece is almost entirely a canon.I also mentioned the issue of “stemming” at the beginning of the episode. Here is the chord I mentioned (BWV 867.) Note how Bach’s nine individual stems imply nine separate voices, whereas the print reduces them to only four:N.B. Most of the episodes of this podcast have been newly catalogued according to genre or theme or BWV on my Substack. Yet another reason for you to join the platform! You can now browse according to BWV, instrumentation, et cetera. Have a gander at wtfbach.substack.comThanks to all my listeners for supporting me in 2025! Thanks to Romain Villet for reminding me to make this episode. Best of luck to him and to all brave enough to transpose Bach in 2026!We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity.Concepts Covered: This podcast episode discusses Johann Sebastian Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, book 1, (1722) the second prelude and fugue in C minor. Including revisions, fugue structure, and contrapuntal technique, with a few hints at BWV 773 and BWV 867. There is a double countersubject, canonic writing, BWV 847a, and the earliest versions before source P. 415 Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

We’ve traveled halfway through the chromatic scale and Bach celebrates this victory with one of the more complex fugues in the collection. The subject is somber, full of half-steps and even a cross. It foreshadows the true finale at the close of all 24 pieces:This is one of the only fugues to make strict use of the countersubject, occurring in all but one (!) appearances of the subject.This motif, which we call the head of the countersubject, dominates all the episodic material both right side up, and upside down:Got Bach?The prelude contains some interesting revisions. Here is one I thought would be too subtle to hear, but I think it’s quite audible in the episode:The latter represents a rare simplification of harmony and texture in revision.The biggest addendum of all is the additional measures at the end of the piece. See how abruptly the early version ends:We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity.Concepts Covered:J.S. Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier, Tuning, Revisions, Early verisions. The f minor prelude and fugue BWV 857, with its countersubject, analysis and study. Organ and harpsichord performances, Chromaticism, tone-rows, Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

YouTube These Days....Enjoying your contrapuntal journey? Here’s how you can help:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions (yes, you can subscribe for free!) are also beneficial for our numbers.You can make a one-time donation here. We run a 501(c)3, so let us know if you want a tax deduction:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Anyone else feel like we don’t have enough fugues in F major?In the last of Bach’s four layerings to the fair copy of The Well-Tempered Clavier, we see some beautiful details that would have been lost had Bach not made this last series of revisions in the 1740s. It makes you wonder if Bach would have made even more, should he have lived as long as Telemann! Bar 42 reads like this in A1-A3 into the 1740s: Then, in A4, Bach found expression in the tie and 32nd notes:Such a revision physically looks like this on fair copy:This particular revision may not be immediately clear to the naked eye, but some are (see the e minor revisions at the bottom of the post.) I believe it was X-ray technology that led to such breakthroughs in the scholarship, but some layers might be a sort of ‘white-out’ or paste that physically would stand out on the paper— any expertise would be appreciated in the comments! We know that in the Saint Matthew Passion, Bach quite literally ‘layered’ smaller pieces of paper onto the manuscript, but I think that has to do with repair, not necessarily revision. One famous layering in A4 looks as if it’s been pasted onto the manuscript… but it could be my imagination. From the first fugue, BWV 846:WTF Bach is free to all! Let’s spread the awareness of contrapuntal mastery. However, if you support financially, you’re much less likely to write parallel 5ths.There are a number of revisions also in the F Major prelude. Interestingly, the length of both prelude and fugue remains unchanged between earliest versions and the fair copy. Bach had the general harmonic rhythm right, but smooths out the insides of some measures:(Early versions, followed by the fair copy)And so on… (more demonstrations in the episode.)I finish the episode with four beautiful revisions to the e minor prelude (covered in Ep. 114) again made in A4. These are typical of his final revisions to the WTC1, bursting with 32nds. Here, one can somewhat plainly see the difference between inks:Before these revisions, the melody was as follows:We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity.Concepts Covered:J.S. Bach’s late A4 revisions to the Well-Tempered Clavier I (BWV 846–869) in the F-major fugue BWV 856, the F major prelude, the discant adjustments that earlier manuscript stages (A1–A3) lack. The late embellishments in the E-minor prelude BWV 855, The genesis of WTK I, variant readings, fair-copy corrections, Harmonic analysis, contrapuntal rules, and the general genius of Bach. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Giving thanks to all my listeners today! Why do you listen to this podcast?The original Spanish of the Borges poem, as read by my good friend, Andrea Profili.Otro poema de los donesGracias quiero dar al divinoLaberinto de los efectos y de las causasPor la diversidad de las criaturasQue forman este singular universo,Por la razón, que no cesará de soñarCon un plano del laberinto,Por el rostro de Elena y la perseverancia de Ulises,Por el amor, que nos deja ver a los otrosComo los ve la divinidad,Por el firme diamante y el agua suelta,Por el álgebra, palacio de precisos cristales,Por las místicas monedas de Ángel Silesio,Por Schopenhauer,Que acaso descifró el universo,Por el fulgor del fuego,Que ningún ser humano puede mirar sin un asombro antiguo,Por la caoba, el cedro y el sándalo,Por el pan y la sal,Por el misterio de la rosa,Que prodiga color y que no lo ve,Por ciertas vísperas y días de 1955,Por los duros troperos que en la llanuraArrean los animales y el alba,Por la mañana en Montevideo,Por el arte de la amistad,Por el último día de Sócrates,Por las palabras que en un crepúsculo se dijeronDe una cruz a otra cruz,Por aquel sueño del Islam que abarcóMil noches y una noche,Por aquel otro sueño del infierno,De la torre del fuego que purificaY de las esferas gloriosas,Por Swedenborg,Que conversaba con los ángeles en las calles de Londres,Por los ríos secretos e inmemorialesQue convergen en mí,Por el idioma que, hace siglos, hablé en Nortumbria,Por la espada y el arpa de los sajones,Por el mar, que es un desierto resplandecienteY una cifra de cosas que no sabemosY un epitafio de los vikings,Por la música verbal de Inglaterra,Por la música verbal de Alemania,Por el oro, que relumbra en los versos,Por el épico invierno,Por el nombre de un libro que no he leído:Gesta Dei per Francos,Por Verlaine, inocente como los pájaros,Por el prisma de cristal y la pesa de bronce,Por las rayas del tigre,Por las altas torres de San Francisco y de la isla de Manhattan,Por la mañana en Texas,Por aquel sevillano que redactó la Epístola MoralY cuyo nombre, como él hubiera preferido, ignoramos,Por Séneca y Lucano, de Córdoba,Que antes del español escribieronToda la literatura española,Por el geométrico y bizarro ajedrezPor la tortuga de Zenón y el mapa de Royce,Por el olor medicinal de los eucaliptos,Por el lenguaje, que puede simular la sabiduría,Por el olvido, que anula o modifica el pasado,Por la costumbre,Que nos repite y nos confirma como un espejo,Por la mañana, que nos depara la ilusión de un principio,Por la noche, su tiniebla y su astronomía,Por el valor y la felicidad de los otros,Por la patria, sentida en los jazmines,O en una vieja espada,Por Whitman y Francisco de Asís, que ya escribieron el poema,Por el hecho de que el poema es inagotableY se confunde con la suma de las criaturasY no llegará jamás al último versoY varía según los hombres,Por Frances Haslam, que pidió perdón a sus hijosPor morir tan despacio,Por los minutos que preceden al sueño,Por el sueño y la muerte, esos dos tesoros ocultos,Por los íntimos dones que no enumero,Por la música, misteriosa forma del tiempoEnjoying your contrapuntal journey? Here’s how you can help:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber atwtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions (yes, you can subscribe for free!) are also beneficial for our numbers. You can make a one-time donation here. We run a 501(c)3, so let us know if you want a tax deduction:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Thank you for your support! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Something’s missing:The fact that this piece was conceived independently of its solo line is a marvelous insight into Bach’s compositional process. Somewhere along the way, Bach revisited the piece and added the upper line:Here is a link to the video where Schiff talks about the Well-Tempered.And don’t miss the Kurt Vonnegut moment at 32:45!We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity.Concepts Covered:BWV 854 and BWV 855 in the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One, two-voice fugue, the early versions, Bach’s revision. A look at finding the right character, as seen in the Christmas Oratorio, where motivic cells show a consistent compositional logic. Bach’s improvisation, or at least improvisatory style while writing a solo line over a preformed prelude, and predetermined harmonic rhythm. We also see Bach’s use of parallel octaves in Bach, and parallel octaves in the Well-Tempered Clavier. Contrapuntal analysis, study. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Just a few moments ago, two newly christened works were connected to Bach’s name for the time after 320 years. Exciting news, have a listen! Many thanks to the Bach Archive in Leipzig for the production. (Sorry for any glitches in the production, episode made in haste!)Know someone who’d enjoy hearing about this joyous discovery?A link to the source of d minor Chaconne, BWV 1178A link to the source of the g minor Chaconne, BWV 1179The live stream link (English overdub.)We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

—More matter with less art. (Hamlet, II.ii)Got friends who speak English? Spread W.T.F.P.S. The music at the end is a taste of a forthcoming W.T.F. Bach album: arrangements of the Orgelbüchlein. Album title suggestions welcome!We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

“Whoever has once felt this wonderful tranquility has comprehended the mysterious spirit that has here expressed all it knew and felt of life in the secret language of tone, and will render Bach the thanks we render only to the great souls to whom it is given to reconcile men with life and bring them peace.” -Schweitzer, Vol. 1W.T.F. Bach wants YOU to subscribeA prelude in E-flat minor, with a fugue in its enharmonic other. The image attached to this episode is from the Czerny edition, who felt the need to dispense with the enharmonic intrigue, and publish the fugue in E-flat minor.Is the prelude the most crushingly beautiful thing Bach wrote? The fugue, devoid of the sensitivity found in the prelude, displays the largest repertoire of fugal technique thus far: stretto, inversion, canon in all voices, augmentation— a veritable dictionary of thematic possibilities. Here, for example, is a passage I find most striking: stretto and strict canon in all voices. First, the theme appears in blue, ascending in perfect fourths, and a moment later, in red, inverts into perfect fifths. Bach seems to have been fond of this idea (and perhaps the shape of this subject as lending itself to fugal techniques) as he employs it in four voices —nearly at the exact same spot in the fugue— in the fifth contrapuntus in The Art of Fugue:We heard from Edwin Fischer, ukuleleist Herb Ohta (whose Ukulele Bach Playlist is a trip) and at the end, Pierre Hantai.Do check out Alfredo Sanchez’ recording on guitar, he’s got a great feel for this music.We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity.Concepts Covered:The Well-Tempered Clavier, J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor / D-sharp minor Expression vs. technical complexity. The prelude, written in E-flat minor, is introspective, harmonically rich. Its fugue, in the enharmonic key of D-sharp minor, moves from emotion to intellect, showcasing the most extensive use of fugal technique seen so far in the cycle: A survey of contrapuntal possibilities. Analysis, early versions such as BWV 853a, history, revisions, and study. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

A most precious 15 minutes of audio. In improvised miniatures with different combinations of stops, Helmut Walcha gives invaluable insights into the world of improvising and the various colors on the organ. An assistant names the stops he will use before he plays— you can see the list of stops in the links. I recommend the first link in particular for its details on the restorations and the photos of cherubs, et cetera, but you’ve also got to admire an organ that has its own Wikipedia page. The organ, built in 1680, was made world famous by Walcha. Thanks, -e.s.https://arpschnitger.nl/scappel.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_of_St._Peter_and_Paul_in_Cappel We survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Continuing our study of The Well-Tempered Clavier, (hear the first episode in this series via this link) Bach begins the second quarter of the collection with a dramatic genre: a fugal prelude. Not only that, the fugue appears to be a double fugue!The prelude begins more contrapuntally than the preludes we have met thus far:After a few bars of this, Bach dashes our hope that the prelude will continue exclusively with this motif. A flourish of virtuosity vanishes into what seems to be a fugue— of completely unrelated material— nearly in stile antico:Not content to remain a simple fugue, Bach doubles down by introducing a second subject derived from the opening gestures. Notice how the new subject contrasts with the first, moving not only quicker, but in stepwise motion rather than by leaps.May This Baroque Resource ne’er be Broke! Help us thrive:As mentioned in the episode, here is a chart illustrating the symmetrical placement of the two double fugues within Bach’s collection. Such symmetry, I feel, is not merely coincidental.Supporting this show ensures its longevity. Long may WTF Bach endure:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comBut free subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachWe survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!Concepts Covered:In this analysis of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 852, E-flat Major, Es Dur, we examine Bach’s contrapuntal design, double fugue prelude, and development. This new fugal prelude, Bach transitions from free texture to strict imitation, introducing a second subject derived from the opening motif. This new theme contrasts with the first, employing stepwise motion, Baroque counterpoint and architectural symmetry in the prelude and fugue. The episode also discusses Bach’s placement of the two double fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier as an act of structural balance. Early version, BWV852a, also covered. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

“Cheever was a reasonably tormented man.” -Jerry LowenthalEnjoy this short story— one of the great American short stories— by John Cheever.Thanks!-EvanHelp this resource survive for future Bach enthusiasts! 100% fueled by your support.We exist because of your Donations:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this scholarly resource ensures its longevity!Thank you! Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

How boring would this be?Admittedly, I still find that beautiful, but Bach is one note ahead of me:We have a prelude propelled by its instability. This might be something to pay attention to in The Well-Tempered Clavier —if not all his writing in the early 1720s— ordinary melodic shapes that become more compelling when slightly offset.We want YOU! to support WTF BachWe are 25% of the way through this triumph of tonality. Now, for the first time in the collection, the fugue makes explicit use of inverted entrances. Here is the subject ‘right-side up’ at the opening:Exactly halfway through the fugue, Bach brings the subjects in a second exposition, only now they are upside down:He also inverts the order of voices in the beautifully expressive episode that occurred earlier, and makes explicit use of stretto in the second half. Other fugal techniques such as ‘splintering’ fragments of the subject in stretto or in parallel thirds make for a brilliant finale on the first quarter of his 1722 masterpiece. Have a listen to the episode for more analysis! We Survive on your Donations! Thank you!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity!—Help WTF Bach reach more listeners—Concepts covered:Preludes and fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier, the D minor BWV 851 (and others, such as BWV 850) Bach’s compositional technique in revision. The early version, BWV 851a is a mere 15 bars long. Counterpoint, voice leading, and harmonic direction, inversion, (the first inversions in the WTK) and stretto in this fugue. Also, instability in melodic design and rhythmic offsetting. Bach marks periods of structure through the book by placing more complicated techniques at these symmetrical points. Also, articulation added to the revised versions, the autograph fair copy. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

While the ‘double-dot’ may well have shown up during Bach’s lifetime, I’m not aware of him ever using it. To assume that his music never makes use of such rhythm would obviously be incorrect. Instead, we need to seek out where it might and might not be applied. Continuing our tour through The Well-Tempered Clavier, in the D Major Fugue now, BWV 850, we see a possible implication of double-dots in the subject:Playing the dotted 8ths as double-dotted 8ths, hence changing the following 16th notes into 32nds, might be considered correct— even stylish! But we are thrown into doubt when we meet the phrase:If we are to play the 16th note chords together, double-dotting the motif would now not be possible. What to do? Separate the chords? Swing the 16ths? Play one phrase double-dotted and the other not? In this episode we listen to 14 interpretations in an attempt to find the ‘correct’ answer.WTF Bach is 100% reader-supported! To support this resource, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.The following performers offer their solution:Edwin FischerGlenn GouldRalph KirkpatrickTon KoopmanWanda LandowskaGustav LeonhardtSviatoslav RichterScott RossWolfgang RubsamAndras SchiffLouis ThiryRosalyn TureckHelmut WalchaZuzana RuzickovaThere is also a good wikipedia article on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotted_noteReminder!J.S. Bach: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 5- Musical Offering, Suite 823 is now available everywhere you listen to music— have a listen!Supporting this show ensures its longevity. Long may WTF Bach endure:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriberat wtfbach.substack.comFree subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachWe survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!Concepts Covered:Double dotting in Baroque music remains one of the most debated topics in performance practice, especially when interpreting J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier alongside the broader French style. French composers such as Lully and Rameau often used double-dotted rhythms in overtures and dances, creating a sharp long–short contrast that was part of their national style, while German composers absorbed and transformed these conventions. Bach, familiar with both Italian and French idioms, never notated double dots explicitly, relying on performers to apply the convention, leaving modern interpreters uncertain whether to play rhythms strictly (7:1) or with more flexibility. This ambiguity, double-dot, notes inégales in Bach, continues to challenge harpsichordists and pianists alike, making historically informed performance of Bach’s keyboard works, especially the Well-Tempered Clavier, a central field of research in Baroque interpretation. BWV 850 Prelude and Fugue, its early versions and revisions also explored. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

(Rated PG)Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouthinstamus tamen inmemores caecique furore,et monstrum infelix sacrata sistimus arce.Aeneid, II.244-245(Yet blindly we persist, forgetful in our fury, and we place the monster, unhappy, upon our sacred citadel.)I like to think about the origins of phrases we use in English. Imagine you’re a foreigner and someone says, “go on, spill the beans…”Here are a few idioms we use without thinking about them:Bite the bullet. Here’s an actual example from the Cambridge dictionary of how this might be used today:“I decided I had to bite the bullet and take a couple of math classes even though I knew they were hard.”…But really, biting the bullet meant, “No, it’s not algebra for you son, you’re going into surgery! It’s the 1860s so instead of a nice oxygen mask and a cute little countdown, you’ll calmly bite on a bullet while they saw something off. I imagine after a few minutes of that, the dentist will be on his way to see you as well.”Let the cat out of the bag. “Don’t let the cat out of the bag!”This is one a butcher told me about. Really, you should let the cat out of the bag before you leave the butcher. He said a rabbit and a cat will look exactly alike when skinned except for a few signs. Hence you could fool someone hoping to make a rabbit stew by skinning a couple cats. —Ooh, skin the cat, there’s another one.Anyhow, you get home to the wife and kids, and instead of letting a delicious rabbit or piglet out of the bag, you let a cat out of the bag to show them just how badly papa’s been scammed at the slaughterhouse.The whole nine yards. You ever hear that and think, “but isn’t it ten yards to a first down?” Well, this one’s not football related folks, it’s war related! Machine gun related. Another gruesome one: “Go on boy! Mow the lot of them down. Give it your all, chap! Feed the gun the whole nine yards— of bullets.”Raining cats and dogs. Isn’t that a cute one? “Wow, it’s raining cats and dogs outside!” Sorry— not cute. I quote Jonathan Swift’s famous poem, ‘A Description of a City Shower,’Drowned puppies, stinking sprats, all drenched in mud,Dead cats and turnip-tops come tumbling down the flood.It’s raining so hard, dogs and cats are now washing up in the gutters.And, saved by the bell, “Gee! I’m sure glad I was saved by the bell!” Well, this might be related to boxing, but it also could be related to a device they put in coffins— only a few hundred years ago, mind you— where, should you just happen to be buried alive, naturally after your funeral and after your many days of exhibiting no pulse or breathing, should you just happen to be buried alive, instead of frantically clawing on the back of your coffin without any dignity, you could simply pull on a little string connected to a small bell six feet above. Caution: upon waking in a coffin to total darkness you previously hadn’t been able to conceive, remember not to pull too hard and break the string. Remain calm. Ring daintily. A nearby gardener, whistling while trimming the flowers on a surrounding tombstone, will hear your patient plea and dig you up again. You’ll be back at the pub in a few hours— saved by the bell. Phew!So you see, most of these expressions come from gruesome, if not downright morbid backgrounds. …But I think that gives our language its special grit, don’t you?—Today anyhow I want to talk about a proverb, not an idiom. Proverbs are supposedly rooted in folk wisdom, rather than sentences that no longer make literal sense.So, sure, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, this makes sense to me, but I still have no idea why I can’t put all my eggs in one basket. I’m not going to the coop with two baskets. Can we just save some time here and make the proverb, don’t drop the basket!The proverb I want to dissect is ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.’ It generally means something like, when your uncle gifts you a snow globe from a city you’ve never visited, don’t remind yourself that he shares only 25% of your DNA, just pretend to be thrilled, hug him and say thanks. Don’t look the gift horse in the mouth. You may, however, throw the gift horse straight in the garbage.You probably don’t hear many people saying that anymore— the horses have all disappeared— but when ‘driving’ meant riding on a horse, and not turning the ignition, there was horse wisdom, and one piece of wisdom was that you could tell how healthy a horse was, by looking at its teeth.So imagine how this phrase originates: your neighbor comes bearing the gift of horses, but you’re not supposed to check if they’re healthy.The nerve of these people, bringing you horses that are soon your problem!“Honey, Ol’ Shadow’s looking pretty weak, and I don’t have the nerve to put him out of his misery. What d’ya say I bring ‘em round to the Campbell’s… I think that daughter of theirs had a birthday last week?”Get real. If my neighbor comes with marmalade I’m checking it for mold. If he comes with a horse? I’m going straight for the mouth. …Well, as a pianist I personally am not sticking my hands into a horse’s mouth, but if Farmer Joe, who previously has brought me no gifts, suddenly shows up with a cheeky grin and a horse with a bow on its head that appears to be tied just so it’s clamping the horse’s jaws shut— I'm gonna make sure an equine dentist is on staff.‘Oh hey, Farmer Joe! To what do I owe this pleasure? I see you’ve brought your horse. He’s looking a bit… is he alright? What’s that? You want me to ha— a horse? For me? Farmer Joe, Wow! I don’t really ride hor— I shouldn’t ride him? Oh, well I suppose I’d better get some hay anyho— oh, he’s not eating much. I see… well, is he, perhaps… I should look in his— no? Honestly, you’re looking a little tense, Farmer Joe. Look, if you just prefer if I pay the knacker and we forget the whole thing, I’ll pretend you wouldn’t let me look your gift horse in the mouth. You know, Farmer Joe, I’m starting to think you’ve invented a pointless proverb because you’re out of bullets and your shovel is broken.’Always look a gift horse in the mouth. That’s what I say.A friend bearing gifts requiring medical attention is a terrible friend. How’s that for a proverb?You know who didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth? The Trojans.Note:The outro music is one of the movements Bach cut from his Magnificat during its transposition from E-flat into D. You can find it, and a few more movements not included in the later version, listed under BWV 243a.Become a subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com (Paid or free subscriptions available!)https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for your support. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

J.S. Bach: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 5- Musical Offering, Suite 823 is now available everywhere you listen to music— platform specific links below— have a listen!A Musical Offering (Ein Musikalisches Opfer) BWV 1079, is one of Bach’s late mono-thematic masterpieces. When Bach visited his son and King Frederick the Great in 1747, he was challenged to improvise upon the following, extemporaneously:Bach did so to the amazement of all. Two months later, already engraved on copper plates, The Musical Offering was ready. It included two fugues on the theme, a trio sonata and ten ‘puzzle canons.’ See here the permutations of the ‘royal theme’ as they appear in the canons alone. Altering a melody so imaginatively is already fascinating— and this doesn’t even speak of the ingenious canons he fastens to them. (This is a ridiculously detailed image, so it’s available for download.)I hope you enjoy this episode and the album! Thanks to Yamaha Artist Services in New York, especially Bonnie Barrett, Aaron Ross and Shane Hoshino. Available Here (Spotify) And Here (Apple Music)https://music.apple.com/nl/album/j-s-bach-complete-keyboard-works-vol-5-musical-offering/1837359653And Here (YouTube)https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k2wf1S1hboQzMDL-4SYawCQDCuaBE9bH4&si=N4M3U_jlDrwZVH0RFinally, the episode dealing with more in-depth history of BWV 1079:Supporting this show ensures its longevity. Long may WTF Bach endure:We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comBut free subscriptions are also great for our numbers.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachWe survive solely on donations. Thank you for your help!Concepts Covered:J.S. Bach’s Musical Offering (1747) stands as one of the most profound works of the Baroque era, composed after his famous meeting with Frederick the Great in Potsdam. At its core is the celebrated crab canon, a musical palindrome that exemplifies Bach’s fascination with mathematics in music, loop canons, Möbius stips, and intricate contrapuntal design. Alongside the ricercare in six voices and other canons and fugues, the so-called Prussian Fugue, the Musical Offering illustrates the height of Bach’s late contrapuntal style, where intellectual puzzles and spiritual depth converge. We analyze the work and its canon riddles, Bach’s fugues and canons, its role as the composer’s mastery of counterpoint. We see its mathematical structure, admired for its late Baroque complexity, and celebrated as a true masterpiece of canonic writing, revealing why Bach remains central to discussions of music theory, musical palindromes, and the art of fugue. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Enjoy this powerful story (1953) by Karen Blixen.-EvanWe Survive on your Donations! Thank you!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity!—Help WTF Bach reach more listeners— Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

“Bach the master surgeon leaves no scar.”Listen on wtfbach.substack.com for the best experience. Subscriptions are free!There are only two five-voice fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier, and only two triple fugues. This fugue is both— a five voice triple fugue. Should I be tempted to add some (perhaps too convenient) theological rhetoric to this fugue, an analysis might read like this:Three subjects in one fugue? Why yes, the trinity in music! The themes enter, Son, Holy Spirit, and God the Father. See first God the Son, a man, very nearly B-A-C-H: The first entrance of the Pentecostal waves comes, aptly, from the top down. The Holy Spirit is rendered:God the Father finally makes an appearance, with his perfect interval, and three repeated notes:On the final page, the Holy Spirit vanishes, leaving father and son in an impressive stretto:N.B. I’m not convinced Bach had any of this in mind. At least since Schweitzer, however, people have seen the image of the triune God in Bach’s triple fugues. I believe at this time in Bach’s career, he had not quite codified his theological word painting, so if in fact Bach was thinking of the trinity, it is in any case represented more clearly in the triple fugue from Book Two, in f-sharp minor. There, the themes enter in order (as they do in the ‘Saint Anne’s’ Prelude and Fugue BWV 552) Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Biographical and theological readings aside, this is a striking and important fugue. Its prelude is no less beautiful. A most interesting revision comes at bar 14. The earliest version reads:Only two bars, dominant to tonic. In revision, Bach seamlessly adds an additional two bars, stretching (and perhaps smoothing) out the harmonic rhythm. Bach the master surgeon leaves no scar: People Mentioned:Albert SchweitzerMieczysław HorszowskiShirley PerleSeymour LipkinPierre HantaïWe Survive on your Donations! Thank you!We encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachSupporting this show ensures its longevity. Help WTF Bach reach more listeners.Concepts covered:The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846–893) is one of the great monuments of Baroque music, counterpoint with theological tone painting. A remarkable triple fugue: the C-sharp minor fugue from Book I (BWV 849) (another triple fugue is the F-sharp minor fugue from Book II BWV 883). The C-sharp minor stands out as a five-voice fugue and triple fugue, an extraordinary rarity in the keyboard literature. Some interpreters have seen theological symbolism in the three subjects—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Bach’s mastery of structure, harmonic rhythm, and Bach in revision. The development of contrapuntal technique, musical spelling, such as the B-A-C-H motif Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

“It seems that classical musicians — and as I now understand, jazz musicians at conservatory— are trained to forget the purpose of the music right at the point they start interpreting it.”In this short episode (11 minutes of talking + 10 minutes of music) I read an entry from my practice diary which may be interesting enough to ponder… As it was passed around during covid, the “Coronavirus Etude” looked something like this:Hopefully you’ll enjoy the lesson I got out of the few ‘performances’ made of such a meme.Meanwhile, Rosalyn Tureck is featured for the first time on this show. Here is a picture of her at a Moog. (I didn’t mention that one of my favorite facts about her is that she espoused this instrument as a perfectly valid way to capture Bach’s music.) Her personal “revelation” about Bach, as related in David Dubal’s Reflections from the Keyboard is read in full.WTF Bach breathes the sweet air of your donationsWe encourage our listeners to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachThank you for your support. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

In the beginning was the arpeggio, and the arpeggio was in C major, and the arpeggio was C major…To which ill-tempered friend will you send this?We are lucky Bach bothered writing out his arpeggio preludes. Here, for example, is what would later become the C-sharp Major prelude, from Book 2:Who, without the aid of Bach’s revisions, would be so bold to turn that into:So too, in the early versions of the opening of the Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach loses little time writing out the figures. He even stops writing half-notes toward the end:Only 24 bars in its conception! A further revision in W.F.’s notebook sees a 28 bar version of the piece— the fair copy of 1722 is 35 bars (not 36! Listen for my discussion of the Schwencke measure.)Some other pieces in this style: The fugue also underwent revisions, especially to its theme. Layers A1 and A2 have:Landowska recorded this version and wrote program notes about her decision (heard in the episode.) The 32nd notes of the subject were added in the third ‘layering’. Finally, Bach makes the finest revision in A4— in the 1740s(!), changing the bass in bar 15:to this:Finer and finer. Curvier and curvier. The image of Bach in the workshop with the chisel is a fascinating one. Links mentioned:The earlier episode covering this prelude (inverting it chromatically and other fun tricks)Regarding the 2nd note each arpeggio in the earliest version of the prelude, see Legato playing and hidden polyphony on the harpsichord (Thanks to Erzdorf for sharing this, highly recommended.)And, as mentioned in the episode, Wanda with Leo Tolstoy:Donate to this Resource:The best way to support, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for your support.Concepts Covered:We discuss the prelude as a possible invitation to check the new system tuning, the famous pieces of Bach, and the Minuet in G being not by Bach but by Petzold. Explore the evolution and historical significance of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, a landmark in keyboard literature and tuning theory. This episode traces Bach’s compositional development of key preludes and fugues, such as the C-sharp Major Prelude (Book II) and the C Major Prelude (Book I), BWV 846 analysis, revealing how Bach expanded brief sketches—some only 24 bars—into fully realized works through meticulous revisions. The Schwencke measure- his mistake. Discussions of simplifying Bach, also we examine counterpoint in detail, including changes to fugue subjects, rhythmic diminution, and voice leading, with examples from layers A1–A4. The discussion includes the function of the preludes as tools to demonstrate well-tempered tuning, their pedagogical role, and Bach’s workshop-like revision process. Also covered: authorship controversies, authentic Bach, such as the Minuet in G, long attributed to Bach but now credited to Christian Petzold. An in-depth look at how Bach's compositional process shaped one of the most enduring works in Western music. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

It’s high time we delve into what Schumann called a musician’s ‘daily bread.’ The Well-Tempered Clavier is one of the collections closest to the composer’s heart—and to the hearts of countless other musicians throughout history.The episode on temperament I mentioned.I think of the two books of this collection as having only outward similarities. The music in both parts are as separate as The Art of Fugue and the Inventions— even more so. Book One, incidentally the only part to be called “The Well-Tempered Clavier” was written in a condensed period of time, whereas its counterpart was ‘assembled,’ as it were, over some twenty years. We begin not quite at the beginning, (a special episode will be devoted to the C Major pair) but with the third prelude and fugue, in C-sharp Major, BWV 848. Compare the earliest version which I play in the episode:to the version which we know: We’ll discuss Bach in revision, the four ‘layerings’ in the first part, as well as the source tradition of both books, the stylistic differences between Book One and Book Two.Donate to this Resource:The best way to support, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for your support.Concepts Covered:This is an introduction to the Well-Tempered Clavier. Explore the depth and legacy of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection that Robert Schumann famously called a musician’s “daily bread.” This post examines the differences between Book I and Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier, focusing on their distinct compositional histories and structural identities. The Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Major, BWV 848, comparing its earliest version to the final form familiar today. Along the way, we’ll unpack Bach’s process of revision, the layered construction of Book I, and the source tradition of Book II, offering valuable insight for students of Bach analysis, keyboard music, and Baroque performance practice. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

PG-13 Warning. This isn’t the norm—just testing the cult of Shinners. Future episodes stay true to our Bach tradition. Enjoyed this? Do you want some more of my originals mixed in with your weekly Bach? Literally Can't Thank You Enough in AdvanceI try to “bear the burden of bitterness which experience forces on us with as much uncomplaining dignity as strength will allow” as restaurants around me tell me to eat beautiful, as any person who pockets their phone to listen is crowned empathetic, as those who literally died walk among us. Language evolves. Oh well.Still, there has got to be something to the way we shift around our words, carefully wringing any sentiment out of the last remaining fabric of a once powerful tongue. We no longer feel with our words. We miss out on basic communication. We’ve lost even the ability to thank and receive thanks:Once, we said, you're welcome. Now we say, no problem. I don’t really mind: other languages have de nada, de rien. But something happens in our psychology when one goes from feeling welcome, to not a problem. Once, we were welcome, now we’re …simply not a pest. Fine, can you blame us? What modern human has time to make anyone feel welcome? I just feel bad for the re-printings of all the phrasebooks, textbooks, tourist maps, dictionaries, flashcards, everything that now has to change you're welcome to no problem. Surely, the truest way to show you’re a foreigner is to say you're welcome.That’s receiving thanks, how about giving it?For starters, there’s thank you in advance. Have you ever been thanked in advance? How did that feel? I recently got a request from someone asking to stay at my house — thanking me in advance. I wonder if she was equally thankful when I said, no thanks. Thanking people in advance is holding them hostage, so when someone thanks me in advance I tell them to get f****d on short notice.Then there’s, I can’t thank you enough. This has got to be one of the weakest sentiments ever uttered. When I hear this, I note the lack of any real thanks in the first place. I can't thank you enough reminds me of that eerie phrase in the business, said just before you agree to play for free, “And you know, Mr. Shinners, we just couldn’t possibly pay you enough…”I can't thank you enough.Really? Have you tried?Tried what?Thanking me.…thanking you?Yeah, sure, go ahead and try.…oh… thank you…Okay. That's enough.You can't thank me enough? What am I, a sultan? I can't thank you enough is an outgrowth of our desire to over-blow sentiment to the point where anything— especially a meal— could be compared to the profound. Amazing brunch. It’s the same sentiment as the best thing ever. So many people I know have experienced the best thing ever. Poor folks… if I had experienced the best thing ever, my life would thereafter seem empty, down-hill, constantly in pursuit of that once happier moment. Going immediately to the superlatives in our language leaves no room for improvement, and once again, we’ve exhausted our expressive power on lunch.Having an occasion where one couldn’t thank enough seems to be reserved for the Cherokee Chief who pulls your drowning family out of a freezing river and nurses them back to health. Maybe then you couldn’t find enough thanks.… in the room, dim light and steam. Under his dark hair I could see his hands, working tirelessly, deftly. My daughter, blue around the lips and limp, lay at the man’s knee: it had been two days since she had moved. I had no hope, perhaps I already resigned her to a frozen fate. At last, as if cued by his movements, as if rising with the steam, she opened her eyes, restored to life. Tears flowed from her eyes, and then from mine. The Chief kept his gaze fixed on her chest, focused on her breathing. I was at a loss. Finally, he relaxed his hands and sank away from her, as if his own life had left him and became hers.I turned my wet eyes to the Chief and uttered, ‘Sir… my dear man, were I to thank you every day until I die, I would still feel that I cannot thank you enough.No problem. Said he.Notes:The opening quote: “bear the burden of bitterness which experience forces on us with as much uncomplaining dignity as strength will allow” is from one of the essays I live by: Phillip Lopate: Against Joie de Vivre: Personal Essays. Poseidon Press, 1986.The closing music is my teacher, the great Jerome Lowenthal, playing Liszt’s Christmas Tree.Become a subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com (Paid or free subscriptions available!)https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for your support. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

A few months back I had the pleasure of interviewing Ton Koopman. If you’re at home in the Baroque, you’re no stranger to his work. Please enjoy this interview, marking the 100th episode of The WTF Bach Podcast! Thanks for your support, thanks to all those who make this work possible. Here’s looking forward to 100 more!Topics Covered (Chronologically)Works of doubtful authenticity (Violin Sonata, BWV 1025)Continuo playing (Figured bass, Improvisation, Ornamentation)Legato in the BaroqueWanda Landowska (“I play Bach his way”)Tuning (Meantone and Werckmeister)Student copies with different ornamentsTempo and the connection with ornamentationHeinrich SchützBach’s repertoire in concertsPedal harpsichord and pedal clavichordBach’s toccatas on organ without pedalsBach ‘counting’ bars (Kabbalah and numerology in Bach)The ending of ‘The Art of Fugue’ BWV 1080The Fuga a 3 Soggetti’s inclusion in ‘The Art of Fugue’Koopman as pianistThe touch on piano vs. harpsichordBeginning organist repertoire (pianists learning organ)Pedal techniqueGustav Leonhardt (also as organist)’Touch’ on harpsichord and organ (quick and slow attack)Performing and musicologyEarly fingeringMy Lady Neville’s BookBook collecting (and indexing)L'art de toucher le clavecin (Couperin)Roger North’s comments on musical performance practicePrefaces by FrescobaldiN.B. BWV 1025 was played by Robert Hill and Reinhard Goebel. The charming piece around min 39 is Giles Farnaby’s (1560-1640) ‘Up Tails All.’We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid Substack subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Listen to the new album here:https://modernclassicalx.lnk.to/BachCompleteKeyboardWorksVol4PartitasPtOneToday I’ve released Volume 4 in my “Complete Keyboard Works” of JSB. This album contains three pieces by the master: Partita no. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825Partita no. 2 in c minor, BWV 826Partita no. 3 in a minor, BWV 827Bach’s Opus One—the six Partitas of Clavier-Übung I—were first issued individually from 1726, with the complete set published in 1731. Bach pays homage to his Leipzig predecessor, Johann Kuhnau, who established the model in 1689 with his own Neuer Clavier-Übung. Even the title pages show Bach’s awareness of Kuhnau’s legacy:Here is (an edition based on) the all-interesting source G 25, with its crucial revisions to the 2nd and 3rd partitas. These tempo indications, for example, withheld from publication in the Neue Bach Ausgabe, greatly affect this transitional passage in BWV 826: Finally, the episode covering the most dramatic revision in this source: Many thanks to Bonnie Barrett, Aaron Ross, the YASI team in NYC, and Armand Hirsch for their help in this release!We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comMore paid subscribers = monthly merchandise giveaways = you in WTF Bach Swag.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support.Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com) Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Would you object to the comparison of Messiaen and Borges? I see both 20th century giants deeply steeped in the masters of the past, throughly conversant in the antique, and yet they bring something uniquely modern— magical. Borges’ stories have the ability to stun, to make one wonder, or in the case of the story I read today, elicit tears.After Shakespeare’s Memory, (1983) which I believe is his last published story, I offer my somewhat chaotic rendition of the Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel Hoch, BWV 769. Following this, Donald Barthelme, an exciting, quirky read: The School (1976.) The frontispiece of my Barthelme book is a painting by Kandinsky— perhaps this is the right metaphor. June 13th, episode 99, sees the release of volume 4 in my J.S. Bach Complete Keyboard Works series. You can save the release here in eager anticipation:https://modernclassicalx.lnk.to/BachCompleteKeyboardWorksVol4PartitasPtOne The two tracks I made for this episode are available as a free download. Here you are!We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid Substack subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Yep. I based an entire episode on the pun. We study two works not usually heard in the organ repertoire, the Prelude (Fantasy) BWV 569 and the Prelude with Fugue BWV 551, both in a minor. These are not the best known pieces in the repertoire, but they command our attention—especially when you consider that one of them was written when Bach was just 14 years old.BWV 569, composed around 1708 when Bach was 23, is a single-rhythm experiment in modulation—akin to his Fantasy, BWV 922. On the page, it looks repetitive, but harmonically it’s anything but:I mentioned I’d link to my own recording of its sister piece, BWV 922 (this cover art: under appreciated.)The second piece, BWV 551, recently dated to around 1700, shows stunning compositional command for a young teenager. If Mozart and Mendelssohn are the poster children of musical precocity, Bach must now be added to the whizz-kid list. As Schweitzer puts it:“If ever a composer’s period of probation was short, it was his.” -Schweitzer, Vol. 2, p. 122. This piece, based on the keyboard toccatas of Johann Jakob Froberger (1616–1667) is an absolute blast. For our purposes, we can call it a double fugue. Look to the pedal line to identify both subjects, and imagine tap-dancing the 16th-note theme:The first time I played it, the ending is what had me cracking up (alone and in an organ loft.) Not only does the piece seem like it’s coming to a stop in d minor:But on the last bar, Bach adds the raised fourth degree! Exceptional. Performers in today’s episode:Rübsam, Koopman, Preston, Walcha, Hans Fagius.I read excerpts from:Pirsig, Robert M. Lila: An Inquiry into Morals. Bantam Books, 1991.Wolff, Christoph, and Markus Zepf. The Organs of J. S. Bach: A Handbook. Translated by Lynn Edwards Butler, University of Illinois Press, 2012.We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comMore paid subscribers = monthly merchandise giveaways. Rock WTF Bach Swag.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support.Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com)Concepts Covered:In this episode on early Bach organ works, we highlight two lesser-known compositions in A minor: the Prelude (Fantasy) BWV 569 and the Prelude with Fugue BWV 551. These pieces, rarely featured in standard organ repertoire, showcase the astonishing talent of young Johann Sebastian Bach. BWV 569, composed around 1708, reveals experimental rhythmic modulation reminiscent of BWV 922. Bach enthusiasts, organ music lovers, and anyone interested in the early genius of J.S. Bach, will be interested in the fugal analysis, the discussion on double fugues, the influence of Froberger, and Bach’s copy of Frescobaldi. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

The oldest surviving (ca. 1100) German church melody is centered around Easter and the resurrection: Christ ist erstanden. Luther adapted this into Christ lag in Todesbanden. Both texts culminate in a triumphant “Hallelujah!”What kind of music could Bach compose for such a joyous word? In every instance, it demands a distinctly exalted treatment. We discuss the origins of the word Alleluia, and analyze the music when the word appears in his motets, cantatas and a four-part chorale. Plus, the story of the discovery of Bach’s personal bible, the Calov Bible.Here’s the word in the autograph of Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (can’t you feel his joy writing this?)Performers in today’s episode:BWV 225, Vocalconsort Berlin, Daniel ReussBWV 230, Le Petite Band, Sigiwald KokenBWV 140, Academy of Ancient Music, Choir of King's College, Stephen CleoburyBWV 4, Pigmaleon, Raphael PinchonBWV 276, Chamber Choir of Europe, Nichol MattBWV 143, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton KoopmanWe Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comMore paid subscribers = monthly merchandise giveaways. Rock WTF Bach Swag.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support.Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com)Concepts Covered: This study explores the origins of the German resurrection hymn Christ ist erstanden, transformed by Luther into Christ lag in Todesbanden, and how Bach distinctively set the jubilant "Hallelujah" across motets, cantatas, and a four-part chorale. It examines the etymology of "Alleluia," its liturgical role in the tempus clausum—when festive music ceased—and its observance under the Rule of Saint Benedict. The discussion concludes with the discovery of Bach’s annotated Calov Bible, offering insight into his theological and musical mindset. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

Today, Good Friday 2025, marks 300 years since Bach performed the St. John Passion in Leipzig. … but it started like this:But wait, I thought the St. John Passion was:In this episode, beyond outlining the basic revisions between the 1724 and 1725 (and a few other) versions of BWV 245, we’ll study how people heard passion music, the purpose of a passion setting, and how Bach, by changing the opening and closing movements, or swapping an aria here and there, envisioned he might guide the listener into a different state of reflection to receive the same Gospel. Today’s performers were M. Suzuki, H. Rilling and P. Herreweghe. Here is a link to the Weimar Passion theory I mentioned. Finally, the excerpt by Daniel Melamed comes from his excellent book: Hearing Bach’s Passions. Revised ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016, 73–74. We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comMore paid subscribers = monthly merchandise giveaways. Rock WTF Bach Swag.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support.Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com)Concepts covered:Various versions of BWV 245, especially the 1724 and 1725 layers, analyzing changes in opening and closing choruses, aria placement, as well as theological emphasis. Topics include Lenten music practices, the music during tempus clausum, the Passion oratorio, Passion hymns such as “O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß,” the liturgical and devotional role of chorales, and how Bach’s compositional decisions recalibrate the listener’s reception of the Johannine Passion text. We discuss changes in orchestration and the change in venue from St. Thomaskirche to St. Nikolaikirche in 1724. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

The organ held a central role in the life of a baroque keyboardist. Not only was an accomplished harpsichordist or clavichordist comfortable playing with their feet, but the art suggests that the repertoire often called for ad libitum pedal additions. In J.S. Bach’s second collection of chorale prelude for organ, he introduces obligato pedal parts. Below is an image from his Bach’s earliest chorale settings for organ, as preserved in the Neumeister Collection:Whereas we do not see any explicit pedal markings, we imagine the adept player added them when tasteful. A decade or so later, Bach’s chorale settings look more like this:Note the small staves on the left, indicating that the source still had two staves, but the counterpoint in the pedal is specifically called for. Here is the autograph:That little “P.” below the bottom staff is the clue. The title page of the Orgelbüchlein contains a flowery description, indicating its intended use:Here is the text of Saint-Saëns’ charming autobiography.And here is the episode where I introduce the Neumeister Collection.We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comMore paid subscribers = monthly merchandise giveaways. Rock WTF Bach Swag.You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support.Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com)Concepts covered:This episode explores the rich tradition of Baroque organ music, focusing on J.S. Bach’s organ works and his chorale preludes. We examine historical performance practice, particularly the use of ad libitum pedal technique and the development of obbligato pedal lines in Bach’s compositions. A deep dive into the Neumeister Collection sheds light on early Baroque keyboard music, revealing how Bach’s pedal technique evolved over time. Finally, we analyze the Orgelbüchlein, its structure, and its lasting impact on organ repertoire. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

A beloved cantata from Bach’s early 20s, the Actus Tragicus anticipates the future of opera more than it foreshadows Bach’s own later cantatas. Albert Schweitzer’s beautiful writing on Bach features heavily in this episode. Here is the tuning video with chorale in question toward the end of the episode:WTF Bach is a listener-supported publication. To receive new episodes, to support the work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Let’s have a look at BWV 106. I focus on the two recorders and their almost unison playing. The effect of one flute dropping a few notes from their otherwise identical melody is marvelous:The theme of the cantata joins the Old-Testament ‘fear of death’ with the New-Testament ‘joy in death.’ Bach combines both testaments’ text in multiple movements. This idea of the soul rising above the old world, ‘as if hastening hither from another,’ musically detached from the fugue in the lower voices, a soprano floats over the texture, quoting Revelations:And who can forget this moment? It even looks striking to the eye:We find a similar image of the comforted soul floating above the music in the duet toward the end of the cantata. Over Jesus’ dying words, the alto slowly sings a Lutheran hymn:Bach so carefully wants to paint the idea of peace in death, he gives one word (sleep) its own dynamic:Performers today were: Masaaki Suzuki, Joshua Rifkin, Rudoplh Lutz. The additional organ chorale at the end of the episode is BWV 616. We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way to support this podcast, is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comEnough paid subscribers = exclusive content, monthly merchandise giveaways!You can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support.Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com)Concepts Covered:This episode is an Actus Tragicus, BWV 106 analysis, one of Bach's early cantatas. We examine the influence of Albert Schweitzer’s Bach research on our understanding of this work today. We also discuss Baroque cantata interpretation, and how Italian opera influence permeates Bach’s sacred compositions. The episode touches on historically informed performance, the comparison of recorder vs. flute in Bach's works and Cantata text interpretation. We spend time considering Bach Lutheran hymn settings and his chorale harmonizations. Additionally, we explore the symbolism in Bach’s music, examining the use of Bach musical rhetoric to convey deeper meanings, and how Bach’s sacred vocal music reflects both New Testament and Old Testament themes. The episode touches on themes of Revelation in Bach’s music, Baroque musical theology, and Bach’s death and peace themes, all within the context of Baroque counterpoint in sacred music. Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe

The bard— not the brook, but don’t worry, this podcast isn’t going to become an English lesson.Thanks for reading WTF Bach! This post is public so feel free to share it.Here is my reading of Shakespeare’s first publication, Venus and Adonis, a poem that is pure music. If I were to list my favorite lines, I might as well copy out half the poem. Just something that pops into my head would be a line like, “Rain added to a river that is rankPerforce will force it overflow the bank.”It bursts with melody and rhythm! And at least one moment, such as when Venus addresses Death,'Hard-favour'd tyrant, ugly, meagre, lean,Hateful divorce of love,'--thus chides she Death,--'Grim-grinning ghost, earth's worm, what dost thou meanTo stifle beauty and to steal his breath,Who when he lived, his breath and beauty setGloss on the rose, smell to the violet?'If he be dead,--O no, it cannot be,Seeing his beauty, thou shouldst strike at it:--O yes, it may; thou hast no eyes to see,But hatefully at random dost thou hit.Thy mark is feeble age, but thy false dartMistakes that aim and cleaves an infant's heart. Why, this might well be compared with the later tragedies. Grim-grinning ghost! As Keats wrote in the margin of his copy of the Sonnets, ‘Lo!’I hope you enjoy this diversion. I’ve been toying with this for about a year now. I suggest reading along while listening to best absorb the poem. You can read the full text in modern English here, and as it appeared (with older spelling) in 1593, here. Poor queen of love, in thine own law forlorn,To love a cheek that smiles at thee in scorn!We Rely On Listener Support! How to Donate to this Podcast:The best way is to become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.comYou can also make a one-time donation here:https://www.paypal.me/wtfbachhttps://venmo.com/wtfbachhttps://cash.app/$wtfbachThank you for listening! Thank you for your support.Reach us at Bach (at) WTFBach (dot com) Get full access to W.T.F. Bach? at wtfbach.substack.com/subscribe